Loader for refuse collecting trucks



Oct. 30, 1951 E. c. C..MILLER 2,573,270

LOADER FOR REFUSE COLLECTING TRUCKS Filed Nov. 22, 1948 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

awe/WM ERNEST C. C. MILLER ATTOR N EV Oct. 30, 1951 E. C. C. MILLER LOADER FOR REFUSE COLLECTING TRUCKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 22, 1948 ERNEST C. MILLER,

ATTORN EY Oct. 30, 1951 E. c. c. MILLER LOADER FOR REFUSE COLLECTING TRUCKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 22, 1948 ERNEST C. C. MILLER ATTOR N EY Oct. 30, 1951 v E. c. c. MILLER 2,573,270

LOADER FOR REFUSE COLLECTING TRUCKS Filed Nov. 22, 1948 L 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 3mm ERNEST 0.0.. MILLER,

ATTOR N EY Patented Oct. 30, 1951 LQADER FQRREFUSE COLLECTINGTRUGKS Q. illi anai-9 1i: Appligatign 'Nqyember 22, 1948, Serial No.-61 ,350 sclaims. (01.214567) Thisinvention-is for a loader and a packer for a refuse collecting truck and-is particularly designed for collecting municipal refuse. Muni'cipal ref-use comprises usually ashes, large amounts of paper, cardboard, cartons, tin cans, glass-containers, boxes, crates, rags, andsimilar material. -Ordinarily,when the body: of thetruck is filled with such waste material, the actual weight of the refuse in the body of the :truck, due to the fact that the material is loosely packed, is-considerably iess than the truck could carry if the material were packed in more tightly.

One of the objects of the present invention, therefore, is-to prov-idea refuse collecting truck which willeondense and pack the load, thereby increasing the weight of the refuse which can be put in a particular truck body, as compared with a load that isnot packed and condensed.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide in a single unitary mechanism a refuse loader that will receive refuse deposited therein and not only load it into the truck, but also, and as'part of the loading operation, pack and -condense the same, thereby substantially increasing the weight of refuse that can be put into the truck body.

More specifically, the combined loader and packer of my invention com-prises a rotary drum, or the like, set into the loading boot which is carried at the lower end of the tailgate, not more than two or three feet above theground, so that refuse material can-be readily dumped into it by a man-standing on the ground. This rotary drum is-driven-by any suitable-source of power, either mechanical or hydraulic. The preferred drive is from an hydraulic motor mounted on the outside of the loading boot and directly connected to the drum. An hydraulic driveis simple, strong, and powerful, and in the sure from the fixed truck body to the movable t tailgate around the tailgate pivot.

The general arrangement of the rotary drum in the loading boot, or hopper, and the means for supporting :the loading :boot and its assoelated driving means upon the tailgate of a ref- .2 use: truck are. morespecifically described and claimed .in :my co-pending ...application S. 660,940, filed AprillO, 1945, of. which the present invention is an improvement.

Itis to be observed that the rotary drum of my improyed invention mounted in a passageway in the loading.,;boot,;or hopper, is provided with a plurality of. pivotally supported impellers which, .as the drumirotates,. are moved ;to ward and away .from..the surface .of the drum, this movement being SOvOQl'ltIQl-lfld that each Jim.- peller, cooperating. with a :wall -.of. the passage: way picks .upa charge of ref-use andpushes with :a rolling. and compacting action. through the passage and intothe truck bod-y. 1n caddie tion to the compacting .actionoi :the drum, each charge oi ref-use being forced .into the truck body from the bottomand'sundentheloadaiready in the truck .is .under an additional compacting pressure resulting irom the weight of the load above .it, .th-usthe ientire :load packed :intp an more solid .masathanis possible with other types of loaders.

Cooperating withxathe. rotary drum 31S .a newer which is designed. for removing :any accumulated refuse material. from thesuriace of. the...dnum. By the time an -.impeller reaches the sscraperiit has beenmoved intov .a retracted position, which :position theaexposed surface ;of the. Mm: pelleriscontoured toconformto the surface of the drum, with the :resultthatthe scraper can perform-its iunction while the surface. or the impeller passes by iti This scraper .alsojztunce tions so as to prevent-refuse siromibeing forced back into the hopper whiletheldrum is :ininperae tion. v The main .sieatune's of :the invention harin been thus outlined, further adyantages of stnuce ture and operation avill l-be zdescribed .connec: tion with the accompanying .d-rawings illustrate ing the preferred :embodiment .of the invention.

Referring to :tiienrawin s, Fig. 11 sis ai, ie;,e11e: vation of .the' ttailgate structure of .a reiusei qlz: looting truck showingv the .zcom'bined loader packer. of -:-.this invention.

:FigQZ is a hrolgen vcmss.ese ticfl al el vati ozoi the device taken-@101 9. i fle'irrr 0f Fig. 3 is an nlar edaeleretio o m m ra llefii loader with portions-of the :-.s.un .ort nei plate. hopper :and --.passage wall and iend w f ,m d m cut awa to :sholl them-ope a on 9. the ious part :E s- 4 is a ross-s io al ele ation along the line 34"" o ie- Q- il- 1 neraw non-cf t cone .1. ic'auifl w y- Referring now to the drawings, a refuse truck body is indicated by the reference numeral 5, provided with a wall 6 through which refuse is to be forced into the body. In the embodiment of my invention shown in my co-pending application S. N. 660,940 the truck body is provided with a removable hinged tailgate, at the lower end of which is mounted a hopper containing a loading device.

In the present embodiment the hopper, indicated generally at 1, comprises spaced vertical walls 8 and 9 extending outwardly from the tailgate 6, bottom wall elements lo, M, and 49, coaming l2, cover l3, and upper outlet passage wall 20. The bottom wall elements H], H, and 49 form a continuous surface of which the elements l and H converge downwardly toward each other and merge at their lower ends in the arcuate element 49. Circular openings 8' and 9' are provided in the side walls 8 and 9, and circular flanges 8a and 9a extend outwardly therefrom. Circular end plate I4, attached to the flange 8a, as by studs Ma, covers the opening in side wall 8, while the end plate |5, attached as by studs |a to flange 9a, covers the opening in side wall 9. End plates l4 and I5 are provided with central openings to receive shaft 22, which may be supported on bearings l6 and I1 attached, as by studs |6a and H11, to the respective end plates. End plates 14 and I5 are also provided on the inner surfaces with cam guiding channels, indicated generally at H3 and I9, respectively, the operation which will be hereinafter described.

Positioned on the shaft 22 is a drum-shaped refuse feedingdevice, indicated generally at 2|, which comprises circular end members 23 and 24, fixed on shaft 22, as by keys 23c and 240, and spaced on the shaft so as to lie within the flanges 8a and 9a, and having a radius slightly less than the said flanges. Gaskets 23b and 242) may be used to seal the space between them, while allowing rotation of the end members 23 and 24 when the shaft 22 turns. A plurality of impellers 25 are supported on pivot pins 26, extending between end elements 23 and 24, for limited rotation about axes parallel to shaft 22, which movement is controlled by cam rollers 28, supported on pivot pins 21 which project through arcuately shaped slots 24a provided in the end elements, to engage the cam guiding channels 18 and H3. Segmental surface elements 29, spaced between the impellers 25, extend between the inner faces of end elements 23 and 24, and it will be noted that the face 25a of each of the impellers is shaped so that when the impeller is in a retracted position it forms an arcuate continuation of the adjacent segmental surface 29. So that the interior of the drum 2| may be kept free from refuse, which would otherwise prevent operation of the device, the rear portions of the impellers are provided with skirts 251) made in the form of a segment of a cylinder concentric with the pivots 26, which bear against gaskets 2922 provided in the adjacent forward edges of the elements 29, while the rear edges of the elements 29 may be formed with arcuate lips 29a which bear against the leading edges of impellers 25. As the impellers revolve on pivot pins 26, the faces 25a of the impellers will remove any refuse which may have accumulated between said lips and the working faces of the impellers. Sprocket wheel 39, mounted on one end of shaft 22, is connected by chain drive means 3| to any suitable driving power source, preferably an hydraulic motor 32, which is connected by flexible conduits 33 and 34 4 to a source of fluid under pressure which may be supplied by pump means operated by the main engine of the truck.

Scraper blade 31, which forms an extension of the upper passage wall 20, is supported on said wall by pivotal connections 36, and its edge 31a bears against the surface of the drum 2|. Horizontally disposed shaft 39, supported by bearings 40 and 4| in side walls 6 and 9, is provided at one end with handle 42. Crank arms 43, attached to shaft 39, are pivotally attached at 46 to the upper ends of links 44, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected at 45 to arms 38, attached to scraper blade 31, so that when the handle 42 is moved in a counterclockwise direction the scraper blade will be turned downwardly and away from the surface of drum element 2|. Stop bolts 41, threaded into bracket 48, mounted on wall 20 will engage the links 44 to limit the downward movement of handle 42, while the coil spring 49, one end of which is attached to the boss containing bearing 40 and the other end of which is attached to handle 42 under tension, urges the scraper blade 31 upwardly into contact with the drum 2|.

In operation, fluid supplied to motor 32 under pressure rotates the drum 2| in the direction shown by the large arrow in Fig. 1 at a speed of between 5 and 8 revolutions per minute. As the drum 2| revolves on the shaft 22 the impellers 25 will be extended or retracted in response to the influence of the cam guideways l8 and H) on the cam rollers 28. The action of the guideways can best be observed by studying the operation of the guideway l9 shown in Fig. 4. Shaft 22, rotating counterclockwise, carries the entire drum assembly 2| with it, including pivotal mountings 26 supporting the impellers 25 at the leading edges. It will be observed that the portion of the cam guideway at |9a begins at the top and extends counterclockwise in a circular path of substantially constant radius concentric with the axis of rotation of the assembly 2| for approximately one-half revolution, where it merges into a substantially straight portion |9b which steadily approaches the axis of rotation during approximately a one-quarter revolution, where it merges with another substantially straight portion |9c which steadily recedes from the axis of rotation of assembly 2| during approximately another onequarter revolution until it merges with the circular path l9a. The disposition of these paths is such that when a cam roller 28 is in engagement with the portion |9a the associated impeller will be fully extended as indicated in Fig. 4; when the cam roller engages the portion |9b the associated impeller will begin to recede with respect to segmental portions 29 within the drum assembly 2| as illustrated b the right hand impeller in the same figure, and it will be fully retracted where the paths I92) and |9c merge; when the cam roller enters the portion We the associated impeller will begin a movement of extension with respect to the segmental portions 29 as shown by the top impeller in Fig. 4 until it is fully extended when the cam roller enters the path l9a. Guideway I8 is provided with paths I8a, I81), and I80, similar respectively to l9a, I91), and [90, but of opposite hand.

Refuse which is to be loaded into the truck 5 will be placed in the opening in hopper 1 surrounded by the protective coaming I2, where it falls on the bottom surface H! and the left side of the rotating drum assembly 2| (as viewed in Fig. 4) Where the impellers are in their extended positions. As rotation of the drum assembly takes place the refuse will be forced with a rolling and compacting motion into the continually decreasing space defined by bottom surface ill, segmental portion 2S and face 25a of an impeller 25, thence pushed under the asembly 2! while confined by bottom wall element 69 until it enters the passage defined by bottom wall H and top wall 20. Additional amounts of refuse being pushed into this passage will force the load up into the truck body 5, and as the load builds up the weight of the refuse on top will produce a further compacting influence on the refuse below. The function of the scraper 3?, as an extension of wall 2%, is to prevent refuse being carried back over the drum assembly into the loading end of hopper l. Scraper 31 must be positioned so that it will bear against the drum assembly at the place where the impellers will be fully retracted. Due to the contouring of faces 25a there will ordinarily be smooth engagement between asembly 2| and scraper 3'5, but the fact that the scraper is held by the tension of spring 41 allows for a certain amount of unevenness in the surface of the drum assembly 2|. Whenever there is a stoppage of flow in the passage leading into the truck, a workman may depress handle 42, rotating shaft 39 to move the scraper away from the drum assembly to permit refuse to be carried back over the drum temporarily to relieve the congestion.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that the invention should not be limited to these precise details but that it may be carried out in other ways.

I claim:

1. In a refuse collecting truck having a passage leading into the bottom of said truck body, a

horizontally trunnioned drum mounted in said passage, the surface of the drum being spaced from the lower wall of the passage and intersecting the upper wall of the passage, said upper wall being disposed in a plane passing below the axis of the drum, said drum having segmental surface elements pivotally'mounted at their leading edges, cam means to cause the segmental elements to be retracted while passing adjacent said upper wall and to be extended while passing adjacent the lower wall, whereby refuse will be urged between the driun and the lower wall, rolled andcompacted, and forced through said passage into the truck body.

2. In a refuse collecting truck, a hopper hELV-r direction to intersect the surface of the drum,

segmental elements of the surface of the drum being pivotally mounted to rotate about their leading edges, cam means to cause the segmental elements to be retracted while passing adjacent the upper wall of the passage and to be extended while passing adjacent the spaced walls, whereby refuse in the hopper is rolled and compacted While being moved under the drum and forced into the truck through said passage.

3, In a loader for a refuse collecting truck having an inclined passage leading into the truck body. and a horizontally disposed cylindrical feeding and compacting means, said passage having upper and lower surfaces, said cylindrical feeding means being spaced from the lower surface, the upper surface being disposed in a plane lying below the axis of rotation of the feeding means, said upper surface including a hinged portion adapted to engage the surface of the feeding means, said feeding means including a plurality of segmental surface elements mounted for oscillation about parallel axes and adapted to be extended for feeding and compacting refuse in the passage, and retracted for sliding engagement with said hinged portion of the upper surface of the passage.

ERNEST C. C. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

